Facebook to Unleash Clickable Hashtags

Everyone's favorite social network will unveil a new hashtag feature over the next few weeks that will allow users to hashtag a phrase that other people can click on to see what other users who have tagged the same words have posted, much like #NBAFinals in the above picture. Just like Twitter, except on Facebook.

The move is designed to enable people to easily see what others are talking about when it comes to certain subjects or personalities.

A spokesman for Facebook says it's a big step for the social media site:

To date, there has not been a simple way to see the larger view of what's happening or what people are talking about. To bring these conversations more to the forefront, we will be rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people and topics. As a first step, we are beginning to roll out hashtags on Facebook."

Facebook says it went with hashtags because they're already popular on the site (presumably because everyone connects their Twitter and Facebook accounts), albeit not clickable at this time.

Anyone on Facebook can seek out a hashtag in the search bar and write posts from there. If you include a hashtag in a status update only your friends can see, the post will only be seen by your friends.

So are #excited about this new addition to Facebook? Or is it #oldnews?